Director general warns RTÉ staff of tough decisions ahead

RTÉ director general Dee Forbes has sought to reassure employees that its group of unions will be consulted before any further announcements are made on staffing issues.

In a series of three “town hall” meetings at RTÉ’s Montrose campus on Wednesday, Ms Forbes explained the financial reasoning behind her decision to outsource the remaining in-house production of young people’s programming to the independent sector.

This process was temporarily halted on Friday after RTÉ admitted it broke a “guiding principles agreement”, which obliges it to consult with its unions on “significant issues” such as the redeployment of staff, termination of contracts and redundancies. Talks with unions are expected to be completed by the end of January.

It is understood Ms Forbes advised employees that RTÉ’s financial predicament meant there were tough decisions ahead, as it tries to balance its books, although no further cutbacks were outlined.

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The director-general, who took up her role in July, is formulating her plan for next year, while work on a separate report outlining the next five years for the organisation is under way and will be presented to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland next autumn.

Separately, RTÉ Television announced details of its Christmas schedule, which will include two Mrs Brown's Boys "festive specials", a profile of Johnny Logan, a Christmas edition of The Nathan Carter Show, a special episode of comedy Bridget & Eamon and Christmas with Daniel, featuring Daniel O'Donnell.